Lightning-damaged trees taken down

photo by Andrew Walgamott

by Andrew Walgamott

A lightning strike during a storm July 5 damaged two trees and electrical appliances at the Howell home on the 14800 block of 192nd Street N.E. of Woodinville. The Howells were not home during the storm, though a neighbor saw the strike at approximately 2:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon. Debris from a pair of 50 to 60-foot-tall hemlocks was found scattered as far as 75 yards away on roofs, decks and a nearby cul-de-sac.

The strike also damaged a control box to an underground sprinkler system, blew out the cable TV and scorched a strip of lawn. A gutter was slightly bent when it was struck by the falling crown of a tree as well. Rick Whited of R&R Tree Service dispatched the dying hemlocks with chainsaws last Tuesday.